Powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake hits Taiwan

A powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake has toppled buildings in the Taiwanese city of Hualien, media reports say. The tremor struck at 23:50 (15:50 GMT) about 20km (12 miles) off the island’s east coast. Photographs posted on social media showed extensive damage to roads and high-rise buildings.

Emergency services are working to free people who are trapped in a hotel that has partially collapsed, the reports say. The island of Taiwan sits near a junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by earthquakes.